KR101305489B1 - In internet protocol television voice aid service method and system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention distinguishes the image information for each grid area by matching the image information provided by the IPTV service with the grid screen, and recognizes the grid position of the point selected by the user on the screen on which the image information is displayed and matches the image information of the corresponding position. Provided is a method for providing a voice support service in an IPTV service that provides a voice service for image information by extracting information or audio information, and a system using the same. According to the present invention, it is possible to support the voice service for all the information provided in the text and image format to provide the user's convenience, it is possible to view the visually impaired.

Description

Voice support service method in IPTV service and system using same {IN INTERNET PROTOCOL TELEVISION VOICE AID SERVICE METHOD AND SYSTEM USING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to an IPTV service using a voice synthesis technology, and more particularly, to an IPTV service that provides a voice service for service information and program information provided in a text or image format to a subscriber station in an IPTV service. It relates to a support service method and a system using the same.

Recently, with the development of a method of transmitting broadcast signals, digital broadcasting using a digital transmission method has been spreading.

In particular, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) broadcasting is a digital convergence form of convergence of broadcasting and communication, and receives a broadcast signal from a program provider (PP) or terrestrial, cable, and satellite. In addition, a TV receiver (TV) connected to an IP Set Top Box (STB) through a high-speed Internet network (IP network) provides broadcast content such as TV Internet content and video content.

At this time, the IPTV broadcasting is usually visually displayed on the website or TV screen by visually displaying service guide information, news, drama, movie contents, local information, and additional information including shopping information in the form of a UI menu. The user can request and receive a desired service or content through the checked screen.

Therefore, since the user can request the service only through visual confirmation, it is difficult for the user to view the visually impaired.

In order to solve this problem, a TTS (Text To Speech) technology, which is a speech synthesis technology, is introduced. TTS technology is a human interface technology that converts and provides various text information into voice. In particular, TTS technology in the web page is implemented by extracting the text of the web page, and converts it to voice to provide to the user.

However, since the voice support service using the conventional TTS technology converts only text, voice support is difficult for image or photo data that is not text-based.

The present invention was devised to solve the above problem, and the image information provided by the IPTV service is matched with the grid screen to classify the image information for each grid area, and the grid position of the point selected by the user on the screen on which the image information is displayed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for providing a voice support service in an IPTV service that provides a voice service for image information by recognizing and extracting text information or audio information matching with image information of a corresponding location.

To this end, according to a first aspect of the present invention, the voice support service system of the present invention includes a subscriber station requesting and receiving a voice support service for program information or service information of content; And receiving the location information of the point selected by the subscriber station together with the request of the voice support service from the subscriber station, extracting the EPG information corresponding to the location, and checking whether audio information matching the extracted EPG information is stored. If the audio information of the EPG information is stored, the corresponding audio information is extracted and provided to the subscriber station. If the audio information of the EPG information is not stored, the text information extracted from the text information of the EPG information is extracted. It characterized in that it comprises a voice service providing apparatus for converting to provide.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the voice service providing apparatus of the present invention, by matching the EPG information, including the program information or service information of the content with the grid screen, stores the EPG information for each grid area, and stores the request of the subscriber station Providing according to the EPG server; An audio file server storing audio information about the EPG information; A text to speech (TTS) server for generating audio information by converting text information about the EPG information into voice; And extracting EPG information of the grid area from the EPG providing server from the location information corresponding to the point selected by the subscriber station, checking whether audio information matching the extracted EPG information is stored in the audio file server, and matching the extracted EPG information. If audio information exists, the corresponding audio information is transmitted to the subscriber station. If audio information matching the EPG information does not exist, text information about the EPG information is extracted and transmitted to the TTS server, and the TTS server converts the text information. It characterized in that it comprises a service providing server for receiving audio information and transmitting to the subscriber terminal.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the voice service providing method of the present invention is a method in a voice service providing apparatus for providing a voice service by accessing a subscriber terminal through a network, the method comprising: (a) On the screen from the subscriber terminal; Receiving location information for the selected point; (b) extracting EPG information of the grid area corresponding to the location information from pre-stored EPG information; (c) checking whether audio information matching the extracted EPG information is stored; (d) extracting the audio information and providing the same to the subscriber station if the audio information matching the extracted EPG information is stored; And (e) extracting text information on the extracted EPG information, converting the speech information into voice using extracted text information, if the audio information matching the extracted EPG information is not stored, and providing the converted audio information to the subscriber station. Characterized in that it comprises a step.

According to the present invention, all the information provided in the form of text and images through a web site or a TV screen can be provided with a voice service, thereby providing convenience for the user, and in particular, the visually impaired viewer can be seen.

In addition, the present invention implements the TTS service in the existing terminal by implementing through a cloud environment-based server to solve the problem of lowering the storage capacity of the audio information and the load of the terminal, the user desired character (male, female, etc.) You can change the setting by voice or language.

1 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration of a voice support service system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration of a voice support service system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a subscriber station in a voice support service system according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a voice support service method according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The configuration of the present invention and the operation and effect thereof will be clearly understood through the following detailed description. Prior to the detailed description of the present invention, the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals even if they are displayed on different drawings, and the detailed description will be omitted when it is determined that the well-known configuration may obscure the gist of the present invention. do.

1 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration of a voice support service system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the voice support service system may include a voice service providing apparatus 100 providing a voice service for content and services provided from a program provider and a subscriber terminal 300. .

The program provider refers to a video file including a broadcast program, video on demand (VOD) content, and the like, and a group providing a video service thereof. For example, there are a TV station, a radio station, a VoD / AoD service provider, a portal server, and the like.

The subscriber station 300 receives the EPG information about the content as well as the content from the voice service providing apparatus 100 by accessing the network 200 and displays it on the screen, and additionally receives audio information about the EPG information and listens to it. It provides a voice service by expressing it as an enemy.

The subscriber station 300 is connected to an IPTV (300-1) for receiving the data based on the IP, IP set top box (STB) 300 for receiving IP-based data connected to a general TV receiver or a PC on the subscriber side, etc. -2), IP phone 300-3, PC 300-4, tablet PC, etc. for receiving IP-based data, such as a personal digital assistant.

The network 200 connects the subscriber terminal 300 and the voice service providing apparatus 100 to request the voice service providing apparatus 100 for a voice service for content or service desired by the subscriber terminal 300, and provides a voice service. The audio information transmitted from the device 100 is transmitted to the subscriber station 300.

The network 200 may generally be a wired Internet network, but when the subscriber terminal 300 is an IP phone 300-3, a wireless data network (Internet network, IMS, etc.) connected through a mobile communication network (CDMA, W-CDMA, etc.). Etc.), a satellite communication network, or an internet network connected through short-range communication of Wi-Fis.

The voice service providing apparatus 100 is built at a head end of a digital broadcaster.

The voice service providing apparatus 100 provides electronic program guide (EPG) information about content and content for digital broadcasting to the subscriber terminal 300 through the network 200 and from the subscriber terminal 300. When a voice service request for EPG information is requested, audio information matching the EPG information is extracted and provided to the subscriber station 300.

Voice service providing apparatus 100 for implementing this is the content providing server 110, EPG providing server 120, grid providing server 130, service providing server 140, audio file server 150, TTS server ( 160, the subscriber-specific voice DB 170.

The content providing server 110 stores content for digital broadcasting and provides previously stored content at the request of the subscriber terminal 300. The content may include video on demand (VOD) content, real time broadcast content, cable broadcast content, and the like.

The EPG providing server 120 stores EPG information including program information of content for digital broadcasting and program information of an additional service such as a game, shopping, or karaoke, and provides the same to the subscriber terminal 300.

At this time, the EPG providing server 120 matches various EPG information with a grid screen provided from the grid providing server 130 to position each grid area divided by a horizontal grid and a vertical grid. The EPG information is classified and stored together with the information.

The grid providing server 130 provides a grid screen including a horizontal grid and a vertical grid on the screen, and manages location information of each grid area divided by the horizontal grid and the vertical grid on the provided grid screen.

The audio file server 150 stores audio information about the EPG information in advance. For example, when the EPG information is 'drama', audio information (voice information) corresponding to 'drama' is stored. As such, the audio information corresponding to the specific word may be voice information pronouncing the specific word or may be an effect sound for notifying the specific word.

The TTS server 160 converts text for EPG information into audio information to generate audio information for EPG information. At this time, the TTS server 160 converts the audio information according to the voice information of each subscriber according to the request of the service providing server 140. The TTS server 160 is equipped with an engine or application including an algorithm capable of converting text into audio information and an algorithm capable of converting text into various voices or languages.

When the service providing server 140 receives the location information of a specific grid point from the subscriber terminal 300, the EPG information corresponding to the grid area of the corresponding location is extracted from the EPG providing server 120, and audio information about the extracted EPG information is obtained. The audio file server 150 checks whether there is a presence.

As a result of the search, if the audio information exists in the audio file server 150, the service providing server 140 extracts the corresponding audio information and provides the streaming information to the corresponding subscriber terminal 300 through the network 200.

If the audio information does not exist in the audio file server 150, the service providing server 140 transmits the text information of the extracted EPG information to the TTS server 160, and delivers the converted audio information from the TTS server 160. It receives and provides streaming to the subscriber terminal (300).

In addition, the service providing server 140 stores the received change information in the subscriber-specific voice DB 170 when receiving a message of setting change from the subscriber terminal 300 for the language of the specific character or the language of the audio information, and the like. When providing the audio information to the subscriber terminal 300 to be converted to provide according to the subscriber-specific voice information. That is, if the audio information is data stored in the audio file server 150, the service providing server 140 transfers the audio information to the TTS server 160, converts it into voice information changed by the subscriber, and provides the text information. The control unit transmits the information to the 160 so that the TTS server 160 converts the audio information into audio information according to the changed voice information. In addition, if audio information is distinguished in the audio file server 150 according to the voice or language of various characters, the service providing server 140 does not need to convert the TTS server 160 to the corresponding audio file from the audio file server 150. Information can be extracted and provided.

The voice service providing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention according to this configuration has a request for a voice service for EPG information provided to the subscriber terminal 300, that is, a grid point selected by the subscriber terminal 300. When receiving the location information of the extracted EPG information of the grid area including the grid point, check whether there is audio information matching the extracted EPG information, if present, extracts the audio information and provides it to the subscriber station (300) If the audio information does not exist, the text included in the EPG information is converted into voice information using the TTS technology and provided to the subscriber terminal 300.

In addition, when the voice information for each subscriber is set, the voice service providing apparatus 100 converts or extracts audio information according to voice information for each subscriber and provides the same.

2 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration of a voice support service system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The voice support service system according to the second embodiment discloses a configuration using a cloud environment to prevent server load when a plurality of subscriber stations 300 use voice selection for voice services.

That is, it includes a plurality of cloud computing devices (410, 420, 430) having a plurality of cloud environments (cloud A, B, etc.) connected to the network 200, the voice service providing device 100 manages their system state and system The voice service is implemented using the extracted computing device by extracting the computing devices 410, 420, and 430 capable of providing a voice service according to a state.

To this end, the voice service providing apparatus 100 includes a content providing server 110, an EPG providing server 120, a grid providing server 130, a service providing server 140, an audio file server 150, and a TTS server 160. , Subscriber-specific voice DB (170), cloud management manager 190. Here, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in the first embodiment.

In this configuration, only the components different from the first embodiment will be described. The cloud management manager 190 receives system state information from a plurality of cloud computing devices 410, 420, and 430, and the size of the voice service to be serviced (the total number of subscribers). , The available cloud computing devices 410, 420, 430 are extracted in consideration of the expected number of concurrent users, required storage capacity, and the like. Then, an execution program or engine for providing a voice service to the extracted device is provided. The execution program or engine basically includes the configuration and functions of the service providing server 140, the TTS server 160, and the subscriber-specific voice DB 170 implemented in the voice service providing apparatus 100. The data of the audio file server 150 may be included as necessary.

The cloud computing devices 410, 420, and 430 thus provided include all the configurations and functions of the service providing server 140, the TTS server 160, the subscriber-specific voice DB 170, and the audio file server 150 in one computing device. Or as a service providing device including only the functions of the service providing server 140 and the TTS server 160 to one computing device, and the other computing device is a subscriber-specific voice DB 170 or an audio file server 150. It may be allocated to a data storage device that stores only data for. In this case, a plurality of service providing apparatuses are grouped in one data storage apparatus so that necessary data can be retrieved from the data storage apparatuses of the group to support a voice service.

In addition, the cloud computing devices 410, 420, and 430 periodically transmit the system state information (usage of CPU, disk, memory, etc.) of each device to the cloud management manager 190. For example, each computing device 410, 420, 430 is equipped with an agent that monitors the system state of each device so that the agent may periodically transmit its system state information to the cloud management manager 190.

The voice service providing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention according to the above configuration monitors a plurality of cloud computing devices 410, 420, 430, and allocates a cloud computing device with a low load to execute an execution program or engine for a voice service. And when there is a request for a voice service from the subscriber terminal 300, that is, when the subscriber terminal 300 receives location information on the selected grid point, the assigned cloud computing device receives EPG information of the grid area corresponding to the location information. And extract audio information corresponding to the EPG information and provide the same to the subscriber station 300. The audio information may be extracted from data previously stored in the cloud computing device and generated using the TTS engine mounted in the cloud computing device.

In addition, the voice service providing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention checks the voice information set by each subscriber using the cloud computing devices 410, 420, 430, and converts or extracts the voice information according to the voice information of each subscriber to convert the audio information. Can provide.

3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a subscriber station in a voice support service system according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

The subscriber station 300 according to the present invention includes a network interface unit 310, a data processor 320, an output unit 330, an input signal receiver 340, and a grid point recognition unit 350.

The network interface 310 is connected to the voice service providing apparatus 100 (FIGS. 1 and 2) or a plurality of cloud computing devices (410, 420, 430 of FIG. 2) through a network (200 of FIGS. 1 and 2) to perform data communication. .

The input signal receiver 340 receives a signal input by a user through an input means such as a remote controller or a touch panel, and transmits the signal to the data processor 320 or the grid point recognizer 350.

In general, the input signal receiving unit 340 transmits input signals related to content reproduction or operation during reproduction to the data processing unit 320 and inputs menu selection, movement, etc. through a screen on which content program information is displayed before content reproduction. The signal is transmitted to the grid point recognition unit 350. The selection of the menu may include both a focusing operation using a direction key of the remote controller or a selection operation using a selection key.

The grid point recognizing unit 350 is based on the grid screen with respect to a point selected by the input signal receiving unit 340 on a screen on which content program information or service information is displayed based on the EPG information received through the network interface unit 310. Recognize the location of a point. In addition, the grid point recognizing unit 350 transmits the recognized location information to the data processing unit 320 so as to be delivered to the network-based voice service providing apparatus.

The output unit 330 may include a monitor that visually displays EPG information or a grid screen, and a speaker that may output text or an image as a voice.

The data processor 320 encodes EPG information or content received through the network interface 310 and outputs the encoded information to the output unit 330, and receives the position information of the grid point from the grid point recognition unit 350. The location information is transmitted to the network-based voice service providing apparatus through the network interface 310, and when the audio information is received from the network interface 310, the location information is encoded and output to the output unit 330.

Accordingly, the subscriber station 300 may recognize the UI menu position displayed on the screen and the location information according to the user input (key input or touch input) to receive voice service for the information selected by the user.

Hereinafter, a method of providing a voice support service using the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

First, in the present invention, a voice service providing apparatus for providing a voice service by accessing a subscriber station through a network provides a grid screen together with the EPG information when an event for requesting EPG information is generated from the subscriber station. The event for requesting EPG information from the terminal may include a case in which the subscriber terminal accesses the voice service providing apparatus and sets the power on, or requests a service.

In this case, the EPG information may include information in the form of a text or information in the form of an image as information on program information or service information of a content.

In addition, the EPG information is divided for each grid area divided by the grid screen and stored in the server, that is, in the EPG providing server together with the location information for each grid area.

 Accordingly, the voice service providing apparatus receives location information on the point selected by the subscriber station on the screen from the subscriber station (S100). The location information of the point selected by the subscriber station is the location information of the grid area where the point is located based on the grid screen.

Thereafter, the apparatus for providing a voice service checks and extracts EPG information of the grid area corresponding to the location information from the EPG providing server (S110).

Thereafter, the apparatus for providing a voice service checks whether audio information matching the EPG information exists (S120). The audio information is built in advance as voice information about the EPG information when the information in the image format is included. Even when the EPG information includes textual information, audio information may be matched and stored.

If there is audio information matching the EPG information, the audio information is extracted and transmitted to the subscriber station (S130, S140).

If there is no audio information matching the EPG information, text information included in the EPG information is extracted, and the extracted text information is converted into voice (S150 and S160).

At this time, in steps S130 and S160, the voice service providing apparatus checks whether there is voice information set by the subscriber station, and extracts or converts audio information according to the voice information set by the subscriber station.

For example, if the audio information of the voice information set by the subscriber station is stored in the database in step S130, the corresponding audio information is extracted. If not, the extracted audio information is delivered to the TTS server to be set by the subscriber station. Convert according to one voice information.

In step S160, when text information is converted into speech, the text information is converted according to the speech information set by the subscriber station.

Thereafter, the apparatus for providing a voice service transmits the converted audio information to the subscriber station in step S160 (S170).

According to the above process, the voice service providing apparatus of the present invention has text information or audio information according to the menu position of the UI screen displayed on the subscriber terminal. The information is extracted to provide a voice service.

In this case, the apparatus for providing a voice service may change audio information according to a voice or a language set by each subscriber station and provide audio information. In this case, a cloud environment may be used to prevent a load of a server caused by an increase in the number of subscriber stations.

To this end, the voice service providing apparatus periodically receives status information from a cloud-based computing device to monitor a plurality of computing devices, and grasps the service size such as the number of subscribers and the number of simultaneous accesses of the voice service to be serviced, thereby increasing the service size. Allocate the appropriate computing device. In addition, all or part of the functions and data necessary for the voice service are provided to the assigned computing device so that the functions performed by the voice service providing device are distributed.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the present invention, and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the specification of the present invention are not intended to limit the present invention. The scope of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all the techniques within the scope of equivalents should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100: voice service providing apparatus 200: network
300: subscriber station 110: content providing server
120: EPG provision server 130: grid provision server
140: service providing server 150: audio file server
160: TTS server 170: voice DB for each subscriber
190: cloud management manager 300-1: IPTV
300-2: IP STB 300-3: IP Phone
300-4: PC 310: network interface
320: data processing unit 330: output unit
340: input signal receiving unit 350: grid point recognition unit
410, 420, 430: multiple cloud computing devices

Claims (16)

A subscriber station requesting and receiving a voice support service with respect to program information or service information of content; And
When the subscriber station receives the location information of the point selected by the subscriber station together with the request of the voice support service, the EPG information corresponding to the location is extracted, and whether there is audio information matching the extracted EPG information, and the EPG is checked. If the audio information about the information is stored, the corresponding audio information is extracted and provided to the subscriber station. If the audio information about the EPG information is not stored, the text information is extracted by extracting the text information about the EPG information. Including a voice service providing device to convert to provide,
And a plurality of cloud computing devices that inform the voice service providing apparatus of the state of the internal system periodically, and receive all or a part of the functions of the voice service providing apparatus according to the state of the internal system. Voice support service system.
delete The method of claim 1,
The voice service providing apparatus
Monitor the system status of the plurality of cloud computing devices, determine the service size including the number of subscribers and the number of concurrent users of the voice service to be serviced, allocate the cloud computing device suitable for the service size, and allocate the assigned cloud computing device. Providing a running program or engine necessary for a voice service. The method of claim 1,
The voice service providing apparatus
Providing a grid screen including EPG information on program information or service information of the content and a horizontal grid and a vertical grid to the subscriber terminal;
And store and manage location information for each grid area divided by the grid screen and EPG information corresponding to each grid area. 5. The method of claim 4,
The subscriber station
The voice supporting service system, characterized in that for recognizing the location of the point on the grid screen with respect to the selected point on the screen and transmits the recognized location information to the voice service providing device. An EPG server that matches EPG information including program information or service information of content with a grid screen, classifies and stores EPG information for each grid area, and provides them according to a request of a subscriber station;
An audio file server that stores audio information about the EPG server;
A text to text (TTS) server for converting test information on the EPG information into voice to generate audio information; And
The EPG information of the grid area is extracted from the EPG provision server from the location information corresponding to the point selected by the subscriber station, and the audio information matching the extracted EPG information is stored in the audio file server to determine whether the matching audio If the information is present, the corresponding audio information is transmitted to the subscriber station. If there is no audio information matching the EPG information, the text information about the EPG information is extracted and transmitted to the TTS server, and the audio is converted by the TTS server. A service providing server receiving the information and transmitting the received information to the subscriber station;
Monitor the system status for cloud-based computing devices, identify the service size including the number of subscribers and concurrent users of the voice service to be serviced, and allocate the computing device suitable for the service size, and assign the voice service to the assigned computing device. Cloud management manager that provides the executable programs or engines required for
Voice service providing apparatus further comprises. The method according to claim 6,
The EPG information includes any one or both of text information and image information. The method according to claim 6,
The grid providing server for providing a grid screen including a horizontal grid and a vertical grid when providing the EPG information, and manages the location information for each grid area divided by the grid screen,
The EPG providing server divides and stores the EPG information according to the location information of each grid area. The method according to claim 6,
Further comprising a subscriber-specific voice DB for storing the voice information set by the subscriber terminal for the voice type or language of the audio information,
And the service providing server checks the voice DB for each subscriber and converts or extracts audio information according to the voice information set by the corresponding subscriber terminal. The method of claim 8,
The TTS server includes an engine capable of converting a variety of voice types or languages for the audio information. delete A method in a voice service providing apparatus for providing a voice service by accessing a subscriber terminal through a network,
(a) receiving location information on a point selected on the screen from the subscriber station;
(b) extracting EPG information of the grid area corresponding to the location information from pre-stored EPG information;
(c) checking whether audio information matching the extracted EPG information is stored;
(d) extracting the audio information and providing the same to the subscriber station if the audio information matching the extracted EPG information is stored; And
(e) if the audio information matching the extracted EPG information is not stored, extracting the text information on the extracted EPG information, converting it to voice using the extracted text information, and then providing the converted audio information to the subscriber terminal. Including steps,
The step (d)
Checking whether there is voice information set by the subscriber station;
And extracting the audio information or converting the audio information according to the voice information set by the subscriber station. delete 13. The method of claim 12,
The step (e)
Checking whether there is voice information set by the subscriber station;
Converting the audio information according to the voice information set by the subscriber station
The voice support service method further comprising. 13. The method of claim 12,
The location information of the point selected on the screen is a voice support service method, characterized in that the location information of the grid area where the point is located on the basis of the grid screen. 13. The method of claim 12,
Monitoring state information for a cloud-based computing device;
Identifying a size of a voice service to be serviced and allocating a computing device suitable for the size of the service;
Providing an execution program, engine or data for a voice service to the assigned computing device; And
Performing the request through the computing device allocated to the voice service request from the subscriber station or changing the voice type or language selection for each subscriber;
The voice support service method further comprising.

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